Agenda item

To consider and decide on the recommendations as set out in the attached report.

RESOLVED –  

1.     That the provision of £400,000 by TWBC be granted to Paddock Wood Town Council to enable the delivery of the new Community Centre and delegate the terms of releasing the funds to the S151 Officer and Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Communities be approved.

2.     The delegation to the S151 Officer and Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Leader of the Council to determine all necessary financial and legal matters to protect TWBC’s interests be approved.

           

REASON FOR DECISION:

To comply with the commitment given by TWBC in the Five Year Plan 2017-22 to support the development of the Community Centre in the borough thereby increasing the availability of local services in the heart of the community and enhance the quality of life for residents.

 

There were a number of speakers registered for this Agenda Item as follows:

 

Mr Raymond Moon, resident of Paddock Wood (and to note he was a Town Councillor) made the following comments:

 

-       TWBC had consistently supported the project to build a new Community Centre in Paddock Wood.

-       The sudden introduction of pre-conditions for financial support came as a complete surprise to the Town Council. 

-       Paddock Wood Town Council (PWTC) had budgeted for the project which included a TWBC contribution with no strings attached.

-       The lease of the day centre was a separate issue.  To impose the pre-condition was considered unjustified and possibly putting the project in jeopardy.  It also introduced an element of mistrust.

-       PWTC meetings were currently held in the day centre.  The grant would enable the new Community Centre to be built opening up the possibility of a move to the new site in the future.  Only then should a discussion be held regarding the change of lease at the day centre.

-       Option 1 assumed that without any pre-conditions regarding the day centre, PWTC would not be willing to renegotiate the conditions of the lease.  This was not the case.  PWTC would always be willing to discuss and negotiate anything that concerned the borough, PWTC and its residents. 

-       Option 2 went against everything that had previously been discussed. 

-       Option 3 imposed pre-conditions on giving the grant which was unreasonable and unfair and would seriously impact on the delivery of the project. 

-       In conclusion, Cabinet were asked to recommend Option 1.

 

Ms Carol Williams, Chair of the Community Centre Working Party (but to note was also a Town Councillor for Paddock Wood) made the following comments:

 

-       The Working Party had 16 Members made up from various organisations. The Paddock Wood Youth Council had recently been asked to join the Working Party, thereby giving representation across all age groups.

-       It was currently revising its Communication Strategy, developing an updated leaflet that would be delivered to all houses and contributing to the policy of the Governance Framework which was last reviewed in December 2018. 

-       The Town Council had published a consultation timeline going back to 2008 when Paddock Wood Community Partnership identified a Community Centre as the main priority for residents. 

-       Between 2013 and the present, consultation with residents had been increasing. Since this time there had been displays at meetings and carnivals, articles in the Town Crier and other local publications.  In addition there had been flyers through doors and consultation events as part of the neighbourhood plan. 

-       In 2017 a questionnaire went out to every house in the town. Despite only 182 returns, 180 of them gave good quality information.  It concluded that whilst a few residents raised concerns, most suggested the Memorial Field was a good fit for the Community Centre.  In November 2017, a further consultation event was held in the town centre. 

-       The Working Party subsequently planned a programme of consultation over the summer of 2018.  In addition, displays were set up at the Community Café at the Memorial Field, primary and secondary schools and visits made to local groups.  The feedback received was very positive. 

 

Mr Fred Lemont, resident of Paddock Wood made the following comments:

 

-       The original Centre, built in 1902 was demolished in the 1960s.  It remained disappointing that nothing had been built to replace it.

-       St Andrews Church had rooms but these were constantly overbooked.  Because of this, Groups were forced to use facilities that were available in surrounding villages.

-       Due to the extensive work undertaken by the Town Council, a new Community Centre was in sight.  Concerns raised had been addressed.  But the negatively that had ensued had made progress difficult. 

-       As a representative of U3A, the Community Centre would bring people together of all ages. 

-       It would also provide opportunities for new groups to form and make use of the facilities and create a vibrant Community spirit. 

 

Mr Jeremy Thompson, Chairman of Friends of the Memorial Field made the following comments:

 

-       Friends of the Memorial Field were supportive of a new Community Centre in Paddock Wood.

-       The extent of the consultation  and engagement process was questioned.  In response to the 182 responses received by the Town Council, Wendy Morris, founder of the Friends of the Memorial Field set up an online and written petition which received 878 responses.  PWTC asked to see the results and reduced the number to 594 – still considerably higher than 182.

-       A Parish Poll was then undertaken which concluded that the Memorial Field was not the right place for the Community Centre.

-       As a member of the Paddock Wood Neighbourhood Plan Working Group – looking at the Green Infrastructure Policy (not yet adopted), it stated that there should be no loss of green space in Paddock Wood.

-       In the last 12 months the Memorial Field had had 2 very successful charity cricket matches – it was the home of cricket in Paddock Wood.  The decline of cricket was solely down to the lack of maintenance undertaken by PWTC to look after the facilities.

 

Councillor Meryl Flashman Chair of Paddock Wood Town Council made the following comments:

 

-       Speaking on behalf of the Town Council the suggested lack of consultation was disputed. Consultation with the public had taken place over a long period of time, using a wide range of events, leaflet drops, an online survey and displays.  A banner on the proposed site had been in place since April 2018. 

-       The Community Centre Project had been on the monthly Town Council meeting agenda and there was an opportunity for members of the public to speak at the start of each meeting.  This section of the meeting had been frequently extended to allow members of the public to speak.

-       An initial meeting had been held between the Town Council and the Friends of the Memorial Field to discuss their objections to the project.  A further meeting was arranged, but cancelled by the Friends of the Memorial Field at short notice. 

-       A Community Centre Working Party met monthly. 

-       At RIBA stages 1,2 and 3 there had been extraordinary meetings specifically about the Community Centre at which members of the public had spoken. 

-       The comment made that the Town Council had not acted democratically.  The petition was presented in August 2018, but out of 826 members presented only 594 were valid. 

-       In December 2018, the Friends of the Memorial Field called for a Parish meeting which resulted in a Parish Poll, the results of which were only advisory.  The turn out totalled 13% of which 6.98% opposed and 6.9% in favour of the new building.  The Town Council did not campaign for this poll, but leaflets were distributed.

-       Following both the petition and the poll the Town Council voted to proceed with the project. 

-       Town Council elections took place in May 2019 – 4 were elected unopposed in the East Ward.  In the West Ward, 8 people stood for 6 seats. Of the 8 people, 2 candidates stood in opposition to the project, neither were elected.  1 candidate who stood solely on the pro Community Centre platform was comfortably elected. 

-       The Town Council believed that the majority of residents supported the project and having agreed RIBA Stage 3 would now continue to develop the plans.

 

Councillor Mrs Thomas, TWBC Borough Councillor made the following comments:

 

-       A Community Centre in Paddock Wood was desperately needed. 

-       The Town Council had worked extremely hard and it was something of a shock that some Members chose a different view. 

-       A considerable amount of consultation had been undertaken.

-       Very happy to endorse the comments already made by the Town Councillors in support of the project.

 

Councillor Atkins, TWBC Borough Councillor made the following comments:

 

-       To note, Councillor Atkins was also a member of the Paddock Wood Town Council.

-       A correction related to Page 199 of the Report, the recommendation was made following the Communities Cabinet Advisory Board and not the Finance and Governance Cabinet Advisory Board as stated.

-       On 24^th February 2020 PWTC passed the following resolution without debate, which was read in full  ‘in light of the resolution of July 2017 Paddock Wood Town Council should not engage in renegotiation of the day centre lease as outlined in the CAB meeting of 19 February and seek £400,000 elsewhere if agreement cannot be made with Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.’ This was agreed by 10 Councillors with 3 abstaining. 

-       In an article in the Courier the Chairman was quoted as saying that they were not desperate for the £400,000, it was not a make or break.

 

Councillor Hamilton, TWBC and Kent County Council Councillor made the following comments:

 

-       To note, Councillor Hamilton was also a member of the Paddock Wood Town Council.

-       Councillor Hamilton presented a statement from Michele Sinclair, Chair of Paddock Wood U3A – the largest Community Group in Paddock Wood with nearly 700 members.

-       The Group was fully supportive of a new Community Centre in Paddock Wood but efforts to voice their needs had not been acted on by the Town Council.

-       A meeting room, stage and kitchen facilities that could accommodate at least 200 people was required.  In addition there were some 90 different smaller groups ranging in size from 12 to 70 that would also require meeting rooms.

-       As the plans currently stood the Group would have to book all 3 halls in order to use the kitchen facilities and there were no small meeting rooms.

-       Whilst they understood that the needs of one group could not dominate the plan, other groups in the town had not been asked what their needs were.

-       Following attendance at both a Town Council meeting and a meeting of the Working Group, the question was asked as to the measures undertaken to establish the needs of the relevant Community Groups including U3A – whether a list had been drawn of those groups and their respective requirements.  No such list existed and none of the Groups had been proactively contacted.

-       Individuals associated with U3A subsequently got in touch to offer alternative suggestions to the plans for the Community Centre that would better facilitate the different groups.  This included ideas for repositioning the kitchen facilities and a suggestion that the café was too small.  In addition questions were asked regarding the use of under floor heating and the placement of the toilets.  All suggestions were submitted prior to RIBA stage 3 but were not acted upon.   The current plan did not meet requirements.

-       A meeting with the Chair of the Town Council and Working Group was held in February.  RIBA stage 3 had been signed off, with none of the Groups needs, suggestions or requests considered. 

-       It was difficult to understand why expertise was ignored the needs of the largest group had not been met.

-       There were other groups and individuals that struggled to be heard.

-       Support for the preservation of valuable open space should be heeded.

 

Denise Haylett, Head of Facilities and Community Hubs introduced the report to award a grant of £400,000 to Paddock Wood Town Council to enable the delivery of the new Community Centre.

 

Discussion and responses to Members questions included the following matters:

 

-       The Communities Cabinet Advisory Board held on 19 February 2020 did not support the recommendation to award a grant of £400,000 on the grounds that there had been inadequate consultation and evidence on which to base the decision.

-       It was made clear that the report was asking TWBC to provide a grant of £400,000 towards the Paddock Wood Community Centre and to amend the day centre lease, it was not asking or seeking agreement on its location.

-       PWTC had been consistent in consulting the public on the project.  This had been done at every opportunity, including every RIBA stage.  This approach would continue to be undertaken as the project moved forward.  Their engagement had been widespread using a number of platforms to ensure that information was disseminated and people were able to have their say. 

-       A number of objectors to the site had come forward as would be expected of any site that was proposed.

-       In January 2019, Friends of the Memorial Field undertook a Parish Poll asking whether the Memorial Field was the right location for the new Community Centre.  13.1% of the electorate voted with 409 (6.98%) votes cast against the location and 357 (6.09%) supporting the location.  To note the total electorate for Paddock Wood was 6056. 

-       The Town Council did not take any significant action in backing either side but had since invited the Friends of the Memorial Fields to join the working group which would ensure they had a permanent voice as the project progressed. 

-       With the growth in housing in Paddock Wood an additional £1m worth of S106 contributions had been secured by the Town Council.  They would also have a significant increase in their precept as part of this which had been proved to more than meet the costs associated with this facility both capital and revenue wise. 

-       PWTC were now in a position to go out to tender for a contractor based on a two stage design and build process which would seek to minimise their capital risk in the construction phase.

-       Political commitment by TWBC as referenced in the Five Year Plan was to recognise and support community centres in the Borough of which Paddock Wood was one. 

-       To reiterate, the recommendation was to support the build of a Community Centre, the location was a matter for the Parish Council.

-       No discussions about the day centre lease had taken place yet.  If the recommendation was approved, TWBC would then start that discussion.

-       The S106 money was not site specific.

-       The design of the building was undertaken during RIBA stage 4 which was the next phase of the project.  As such the design of the centre was still under consideration.  

 

RESOLVED –  

1.    That the provision of £400,000 by TWBC be granted to Paddock Wood Town Council to enable the delivery of the new Community Centre and delegate the terms of releasing the funds to the S151 Officer and Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Communities be approved.

2.    The delegation to the S151 Officer and Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Leader of the Council to determine all necessary financial and legal matters to protect TWBC’s interests be approved.

           

REASON FOR DECISION:

To comply with the commitment given by TWBC in the Five Year Plan 2017-22 to support the development of the Community Centre in the borough thereby increasing the availability of local services in the heart of the community and enhance the quality of life for residents.